I AM HERE TO SEE; NOT TO UNDERSTAND (de Jong)

Bolivia is a funny country. Among the poorest in the world. The population seems to contain mainly nativos (indigenes, nativos, aborigen- you choose). It has the highest everything; city, capital and is mainly known for its greatest export product; Coca(ine). It is a country rich in natural resources (copper, silver, gas..) and Paraguay (with help of Shell), Brazil and Chile have taken land away from it.

The bus is older, the windows don´t open and the driver has clearly quite some coca leaves in his cheek. De villages start to look poorer, the odour of the passengers reaches the nose with more ease and people that miss their front teeth seem to get younger and younger. We are on our way to Bolivia.We read in our Lonely Planet that Yavi, near the Bolivian border in Argentina is interesting enough for a d-tour. So that is what we do. It turns out to be the most poor looking village so far. Houses built of mud stone and that is it. The only thing it offers is one of the oldest churches of Argentina, 1690 if I remember correctly. White thick walls and a lot of gold. A Spanish control freak and a whiny Italian lady keep us company. What sadness is this all!!

We freak each other out by stories about theft and warnings we have received about the border village in Bolivia. With some tension we pass from one country to another. It turns out to be completely fine. It is very busy. Young and old is selling all kind of stuff down the street. At the bus station it is crowded and every company yells wherever they are going. We leave in again an old bus, we see no paved roads and at whatever stop kids will jump into the bus to sell food and drinks.
First thing that catches our eye is how the women look. Dressed in many layers, a wide skirt, two braids and a funny round hat. Its function is unclear, as it is too small to protect against the sun. Sylvia tells a story about an Englishman who tried to sell them in Europe, but had no success and then came to here and became a rich man. All ages seem to to carry children. Even though we are sweating, because of the heat, they pack them in warm blankets, put woollen hats on them and put the babies in their colourful cloths, which are knotted on their backs. (and when I say in, I mean, they are IN the bag).

We stop Tupiza, which turns out to be a lovely small town with a colonial main square. It is safe and clean. Funny how bad all the stories were and had almost put us off. There are three activities I want to do in South-America. The first one located me in a rather unusual spot; on the back of a horse. We rode five hours through the mountains and had the most amazing views. I had a hard time walking after..my derriere was pretty sore!!

Time to go to what we actually came for; the biggest salt flat in the world. But first we have to get there. We are able to buy tickets for the last two places in the back of the bus. This bus is smellier and older than any of the previous busses and we sit folded in the back, while more and more passengers come in. The bus is not just overloaded with luggage, but also with people. We drive off and it takes us a long time before we seize feeling scared and we both declare we love life and each other. A couple of hours over the roads in the mountains with its sharp turns. At some point some luggage falls off the roof. We need to keep a piece of cloth in front of our face, as it is so dusty/sandy. Not to sound all negative; the view was absolutely breathtaking...
After a few hours we arrive in another town and are put into a jeep. It counts 14 passengers, a small child and the driver. Let me say that normally probably not more than 8 people would fit..!!!We are relieved to arrive in one piece in Uyuni.

We pick a company which will take us with four others on a three day tour.The Salaris is 200.000 km2 and it is simply impressive to be surrounded by a completely white area, as if you are driving through snow. I buy my first souvenir; two candle holders made of salt. Let´s see it if makes it through the 3 1/2 months we have left...We see one woman packing salt with bare hands and closing the packages with a burner. On this trip we also visit caves, various lagunas, huge rocks in the desert, loads of Flamencos and what we appreciate most; natural geysers and we take a dive in a natural hot thermal bath on 4800 meters high (which is equal to the Mont Blanc, the highest point in Europe). At night it is really cold and we have dinner with our jackets and woollen hats on!It is a beautiful tour, but both Sylvia and me feel a bit sceptical. We spent almost an entire day in the jeep and it is mostly getting on and off to get pictures. There is no other way to do it, but it makes it hard to 'feel' the environment.

We change country, as soon as we enter Chile the road is asphalted. Our bags are checked one by one. One girl hands in a bag of Coca leaves which she had forgotten to leave in Bolivia. The police laughs about it. I however am asked to come to the little office, as I was carrying the shocking amount of 4 apples. I have to sign a declaration that I agree with the destruction of them. Fruit is definitely more criminal than drugs if you ask me!